Building services engineer: Job description

Building services engineers design, install and main the services in a new or existing building. These services include all equipment and materials involved with heating, lighting, ventilation, air-conditioning, electrical distribution, water supply, sanitation, public health, fire protection, safety systems, lifts, escalators, facade engineering and acoustics.

With the current emphasis on sustainability, building services engineers are at the cutting-edge of designing, developing and managing new technologies that integrate into existing systems and services.

While the role increasingly demands a multidisciplinary approach, building services engineers tend to specialise in one of the following areas:

• electrical engineering;
• mechanical engineering;
• public health.

Typical work activities

Activities vary according to the specialist area of work and employer (for example, client/end-user, building contractor or engineering consultancy). However, tasks typically involve:

• negotiating and developing project contracts and agreeing these with clients, if working in consultancy, and putting out tenders;
• commissioning, organising and assessing the work of contractors;
• working with detailed diagrams, plans and drawings;
• using specialist computer-aided design (CAD) software and other resources to design the systems required for the project;
• managing and forecasting spend, using whole life cycle costing techniques, ensuring that work is kept to budget;
• designing site-specific equipment as required;
• overseeing and supervising the installation of building systems and specifying maintenance and operating procedures;
• monitoring building systems and processes;
• making decisions about expired systems equipment and the appropriate location of new equipment;
• liaising closely with other professionals, including structural engineers, builders, architects and surveyors, and in-house project teams;
• attending a range of project group and technical meetings;
• ensuring that the design and maintenance of building systems meets legislative and health and safety requirements;
• advising clients and architects on energy use and conservation in a range of buildings and sites, aiming to minimise the environmental impact and reduce the carbon footprint;
• working on a variety of projects within a short period of time.